THE BANKS OF THE ROSES ________________________ On the Banks of the Roses me love and I lay down And I took out me fiddle for to play me love a tune And in the middle of the tune o she smiled and she said Oro Johnny, lovely Johnny don't ya leave me When I was a young man I heard me father say That he'd rather see me dead and buried in the clay Sooner than be married to any runaway By the lovely sweet banks of the roses And then I am no runaway and soon I'll let them know That I can take the bottle or can leave it alone And if her daddy doesn't like it he can keep his daughter at home And young Johnny will go rovin' with another And when I get married t'will be in the month of May When the leaves they are green and the meadows they are gay And me and me true love we'll sit and sport and play By the lovely sweet banks of the roses